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To hear the charming poet's am'rous fong,
And gather honey, falling from his tongue;
To take the fragrant kiffes of his mouth,
Sweeter than breezes of her native fouth;
Likening his grace, his perfon, and his mien,
To all that great or beauteous I had feen.

Serene and bright his eyes, as folar beams,
Reflecting temper'd light from chrystal streams;
Ruddy as gold his cheek; his bofom fair

• As filver; the curl'd ringlets of his hair
Black as the raven's wing; his lip more red
Than eastern coral, or the scarlet thread:
• Even his teeth, and white like a young flock,
• Coeval, newly fhorn, from the clear brook
• Recent, and blanching on the funny rock.
Iv'ry, with fapphires interfpers'd, explains
How white his hands, how blue the manly veins;
Columns of polifh'd marble, firmly fet

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On golden bafes, are his legs and feet;

• His ftature all majestick, all divine,

Straight as the palm-tree, ftrong as is the pine;
Saffron and myrrh are on his garments shed,
And everlasting fweets bloom round his head.-
What utter I! where am I! wretched maid!
‹ Die, Abra, die! too plainly haft thou faid,

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Thy foul's defire to meet his high embrace,
And bleffing stamp'd upon thy future race;
To bid attentive nations blefs thy womb,

• With unborn monarchs charg'd, and Solomons to come!"
Here o'er her speech her flowing eyes prevail.
O foolish maid! and, O unhappy tale!
"My fuff'ring heart for ever shall defy
New wounds, and danger from a future eye.
'O! yet my tortur'd fenfes deep retain

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The wretched mem'ry of my former pain,
The dire affront, and my Egyptian chain.

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As time,' I faid, may happily efface That cruel image of the king's disgrace, Imperial Reafon fhall refume her feat,

• And Solomon, once fall'n, again be great.

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Betray'd by paffion, as fubdu'd in war,

• We wifely should exert a double care;
• Nor ever ought a second time to err.'
This Abra then-

I faw her 'twas humanity; it gave
Some respite to the forrows of my flave.
Her fond excefs proclaim'd her paffion true,
And gen'rous pity to that truth was due.
Well I entreated her who well deferv'd ;
I call'd her often, for fhe always ferv'd:
Ufe made her perfon eafy to my fight,
And ease infenfibly produc'd delight.

Whene'er I revell'd in the women's bow'rs,
(For firft I fought her but at loofer hours)
The apples the had gather'd fmelt moft fweet,
The cake she kneaded was the fav'ry meat;
But fruits their odour loft, and meats their taste,
If gentle Abra had not deck'd the feaft:
Dishonour'd did the sparkling goblet stand,
Unless receiv'd from gentle Abra's hand;
And when the virgins form'd the ev❜ning choir,
Raifing their voices to the mafter-lyre,
Too flat I thought this voice, and that too fhrill;
One shew'd too much, and one too little skill :
Nor could my foul approve the mufick's tone,
Till all was hush'd, and Abra sung alone.
Fairer fhe feem'd diftinguish'd from the reft,
And better mien disclos'd, as better dress'd :
A bright tiara round her forehead ty'd,
To jufter bounds confin'd it's rifing pride;
The blushing ruby on her fnowy breast,
Render'd it's panting whitenefs more confefs'd;

Bracelets

Bracelets of pearl gave roundness to her arm,
And ev'ry gem augmented ev'ry charm:
Her fenfes pleas'd, her beauty ftill improv❜d,
And the more lovely grew as more belov❜d.
And now I could behold, avow, and blame,
The feveral follies of my former flame;
Willing my heart for recompenfe to prove
The certain joys that lie in profp'rous love.
For what,' faid I, from Abra can I fear,
• Too humble to infult, too soft to be fevere ?
• The damfel's fole ambition is to pleafe;
• With freedom I may like, and quit with ease:
• She foothes, but never can enthral my mind.

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Why may not peace and love for once be join'd

Great Heav'n! how frail thy creature man is made!
How by himself infenfibly betray'd!

In our own ftrength unhappily fecure,
Too little cautious of the adverfe pow'r,
And by the blaft of felf-opinion mov'd,
We wish to charm, and feek to be belov'd.
On Pleasure's flowing brink we idly stray,
Mafters as yet of our returning way:
Seeing no danger, we difarm our mind,
And give our conduct to the waves and wind;
Then in the flow'ry mead or verdant shade, ⚫
To wanton dalliance negligently laid,
We weave the chaplet and we crown the bowl,
And smiling fee the nearer waters roll,
Till the ftrong gufts of raging paffion rife,
Till the dire tempeft mingles earth and skies,
And fwift into the boundless ocean borne,
Our foolish confidence too late we mourn;

Round our devoted heads the billows beat,

And from our troubled view the leffen'd lands retreat.

O mighty Love! from thy unbounded pow'r

How shall the human bofom reft fecure?

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How

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How shall our thought avoid the various fnare,
Or wisdom to our caution'd foul declare
T'he diff'rent fhapes thou pleaseft to employ,
When bent to hurt, and certain to destroy?

The haughty nymph, in open beauty drefs'd,
To-day encounters our unguarded breast;
She looks with majesty, and moves with state:
Unbent her foul, and in misfortune great,
She fcorns the world, and dares the rage of Fate.
Here whilft we take stern manhood for our guide,
And guard our conduct with becoming pride,
Charm'd with the courage in her action shown,
We praise her mind, the image of our own.
She that can please is certain to perfuade;
To-day belov'd, to-morrow is obey'd.

We think we fee thro' Reafon's opticks right,
Nor find how Beauty's rays elude our fight:
Struck with her eye whilst we applaud her mind;
And when we speak her great, we wish her kind.
To-morrow, cruel Pow'r! thou arm'st the fair
With flowing forrow and difhevell'd hair :
Sad her complaint, and humble is her tale;
Her fighs explaining where her accents fail.
Here gen'rous foftness warms the honest breast;
We raise the sad, and fuccour the distress'd;
And whilst our wifh prepares the kind relief,
Whilft pity mitigates her rifing grief,
We ficken foon from her contagious care,
Grieve for her forrows, groan for her despair,
And against love, too late, those bosoms arm,
Which tears can foften, and which fighs can warm.
Against this nearest, cruelleft of foes,

What shall wit meditate, or force oppofe?
Whence, feeble Nature, fhall we fummon aid,

If by our pity and our pride betray'd?

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External

External remedy fhall we hope to find,

When the close fiend has gain'd our treacherous mind;
Infulting there does Reafon's power deride,

And, blind himself, conducts the dazzled guide?
My conqu❜ror now, my lovely Abra, held
My freedom in her chains; my heart was fill'd
With her, with her alone; in her alone

It fought it's peace and joy: while fhe was gone
It figh'd, and griev'd, impatient of her stay;
Return'd, fhe chas'd thofe fighs, that grief, away;
Her absence made the night; her prefence brought the day.
The ball, the play, the mafk, by turns fucceed:
For her I make the fong; the dance with her I lead.

I court her, various, in each shape and dress
That luxury may form or thought express.

To-day beneath the palm-tree, on the plains,
In Deborah's arms and habit Abra reigns:
The wreath, denoting conqueft, guides her brow,
And low, like Barak, at her feet I bow.
The mimick Chorus fings her profp'rous hand,
As fhe had flain the foe and fav'd the land.
To-morrow the approves a fofter air,
Forfakes the pomp and pageantry of war,
The form of peaceful Abigail affumes,
And from the village with the prefent comes:
The youthful band depofe their glitt'ring arms,
Receive her bounties and recite her charms,
Whilft I affume my father's ftep and mien,
To meet, with due regard, my future queen.
If haply Abra's will be now inclin'd
Torange the woods or chace the flying hind,
Soon as the fun awakes, the sprightly court
Leave their repofe, and haften to the sport.
In leffen'd royalty, and humble ftate,
Thy king, Jerufalem! defcends to wait

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